Nihil Fit

musings on Christian spirituality, philosophy and theology

Thursday, October 26, 2006

The Grace of Trees

It's an overcast, drizzly day here in Columbia. As I was looking at the fiery fall colors, I thought, "God didn't have to make trees this way." The beautiful colors are completely gratuitous. Even on an evolutionary account, I can't think of any reason why the colors of autumn leaves would be pleasing to us, or even visible to human eyes. What sort of evolutionary advantage could this give a tree? None, that I can see. It seems the only reasonable explanation for the colors of fall is: God just wanted to see us smile.